- Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has walked free from a US court
- In a deal, Assange pleaded guilty to one charge, instead of the 18 charges he originally faced
- He left the UK on Monday after spending five years in prison fighting extradition to the US
- He’s returning to his home country of Australia
Julian Assange flying back to Australia after leaving US court a free man
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has walked free from a US court after pleading guilty in a deal that ends his years-long legal battle. He faces no further prison time and is now returning to Australia after the hearing in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory.
WikiLeaks is scheduled to hold a news conference in Canberra at 21:15 local time. Assange was pursued by US prosecutors for leaking extensive military information and feared a lengthy sentence in a high-security prison.
Last week, he signed a deal with the US to plead guilty to one charge, instead of the 18 charges he originally faced. Assange left the UK on Monday after spending five years in prison fighting extradition to the US.